gem hunting in Utah?

OK, now that spring is right around the corner (I think?) I am feverishly trying to fill up my summer's worth of weekends with great outdoor activities. First on my list is MD'ing of course. Last year i MIGHT have put 30 hours into it and found my first ring (gold). Needless to say that will be my default activity. Also, i am wading into the realm of gold panning/sluicing. I plan to join one of the local clubs next month. I attended my first meeting a couple weeks ago, and as luck (or fate) would have it, i won a .82 gram nugget on a raffle. I know, I know, i didnt FIND it per se, but it is big enough that I awoke the gold bug in me. Must have more gold.....my precious! Finally, i want to dry my hand at gem hunting. I have been to Topaz Mountain and was very dissapointed. Maybe i dont know what im doing (more than likely), but surely someone else out there may have some tips or areas to hunt for these or other gems. I understand that petrified wood is fairly common, as well as obsidian. I am not too interested in these although it beats sitting here typing. Bottom line is i would love to head into this next winter with a few buckets of gold con's, and some rough gems to tinker with. Maybe ease my way into a bit of lapidary for fun and (dare i say it) profit? Last but not least, i am looking for a few good folks to share my time with while out on the hunt for Utah treasure. Can't wait to hear from you.

Re: gem hunting in Utah?

Yes I agree I will also be hitting the ghost towns this year and doing a lot of md-ing, and of course gold panning,
now i am off the road and in the office with my weekends off, which means more time to hunt. Cant wait only if it would stop snowing, great going on the gold nugget and which club did you go to ? I work late and some times cannot get out of the office until 20:00hrs I will see if I cannot get off earlier that night so i could go to one.
let me know when you plan to go out md-ing .

Re: gem hunting in Utah?

I went to the group that meets in West Valley. A fair amount of crusty old folks, but that mean a lot of crusty old knowledge! If i recall, it is like 30 bucks for a year membership and they have maybe 5 or 6 outings planned for this year (summer). The first one is down near St. George in just a couple weeks. I will probably miss that one, but will make it a point to go to a couple this summer.

Re: gem hunting in Utah?

I am going to join that club, and I will be attending the Beaver Dam Wash Meet. lol I used to ride my 4-wheeler around there all the time, but never thought about gold. But now that I have the knowledge and soon the membership to be able to find some gold down there!

Re: gem hunting in Utah?

Yep, Beaver Dam is the one. As said, i will probably skip that one myself, but am really looking forward to others, especially the one in Idaho. The scenery would make for a great weekend even if there is no color in my pan. I recently had a friend give me a blue bowl...actually it is green and has little 'riffles' in it. I tried running a bit of material through it but to no avail. The material was a bag of 'preloaded' cons but i didnt really classify them other than through a piece of window screen. It was just an idea that didnt work out as well as I had hoped. I could see enough color, but maybe wasnt patient enough to do it right. Not to mention as i was doing this outdoors just a couple weeks ago, i left it all unattended for a moment. When i came back outside, there were two big fat robins just splashing around and having a good ol' time in my green BIRD BATH!!! I tell myself that they MUST have picked out all the shiny stuff.

Re: gem hunting in Utah?

As far as AF goes, i wasnt aware that you could get up there until after Memorial Day. I was up there last summer for my first attempt at panning. Never forget it. My very first pan revealed a nice shiny flake in it. I was so happy as it was early in the day. I though by night fall i would have a full vial of gold. BUT...that was the only thing i found all day. Isnt as easy as i thought after all. Other than you tube videos, i dont have any first hand knowledge of proper panning techniques. I would love to go out sometime if even to watch and learn a bit.

Re: gem hunting in Utah?

lol Yeah I never had to much luck with mine either, but I am far from patient!

Yeah sounds like the last time I was up AF canyon too, but I was up at mineral basin and it was still flood season so the water was not kind. Next time I go up I am going to Mary Ellen Gulch, now that I know where it is for sure.

Yeah I taught myself and taught my brother, his wife, and my step dad. I watched youtube videos to learn how to read the rivers and the nitty gritty's like that. There is alot of useful information in those videos, even though every stream is different.

Re: gem hunting in Utah?

32 here. It was my intent to go to Mary Ellen's last year, but didnt quite make it up that far. I just drove until i saw something i liked river wise and started panning. I think i have watch almost every YouTube video on MD'ing and panning, sluicing, you name it. As i look out the window now, it doesnt look like there will be much of anything going on today. I was hoping to get in an hour or two of MD'ing, but i doubt it now.
So to help me answer my original question, does anyone know anything about Gems around here? "HERE" being Utah, western Nevada, southern Idaho, and southern Wyoming.

Re: gem hunting in Utah?

Originally Posted by Utahdigger

32 here. It was my intent to go to Mary Ellen's last year, but didnt quite make it up that far. I just drove until i saw something i liked river wise and started panning. I think i have watch almost every YouTube video on MD'ing and panning, sluicing, you name it. As i look out the window now, it doesnt look like there will be much of anything going on today. I was hoping to get in an hour or two of MD'ing, but i doubt it now.
So to help me answer my original question, does anyone know anything about Gems around here? "HERE" being Utah, western Nevada, southern Idaho, and southern Wyoming.

Re: gem hunting in Utah?

Topaz mountain is still my favorite, and my kids favorite. Even my 6 year old finds crystals, mostly the ones bleached from the sun, but they also love chasing lizards around. I find pockets in the rocks and have found incredibly beautiful crystals with their full amber colors.